Connolly booed over hostage joke

Billy Connolly was booed and heckled after he made jokes about the plight of Ken Bigley during a stand-up show, it emerged today.

The comic got a cool reception after using material about the hostage at the Carling Apollo, Hammersmith. Connolly also made disparaging remarks about Mr Bigley's Thai wife.

The engineer was seized in Baghdad almost three weeks ago, along with two American colleagues, by a gang led by Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. They beheaded the Americans and have threatened to do the same to Mr Bigley.

During his performance Connolly told the audience: "Perhaps I shouldn't be saying this ... aren't you the same as me, don't you wish they would just get on with it?" He went on to crack a joke about 62-year-old Mr Bigley's wife Sombat, saying: "What is it with him and that young Asian wife?"

A member of the audience, Richard Williams, said many people were shocked by the comments. "One man stood up and shouted, 'You're talking about a man's life Billy'," he said. According to Mr Williams the comedian replied with a four-letter expletive.

"The man did sit down, but there were a few boos when Connolly made jokes about Mr Bigley's wife", said Mr Williams, a photographer.

The Carling Apollo and Connolly's management declined to comment.